There was nothing voluntary about Palestinians’ exodus

In a June 4 letter about the Middle East refugee problem Murray Brand stated that 760,000 Palestinian Arabs voluntarily left their homes in the newly declared state of Israel.

Mr. Brand is using an Israeli myth that was debunked and dismissed by historians, including Israeli historians, over 30 years ago. The Palestinians did not leave voluntarily. Their villages were raided by well-armed Jewish militias. After watching family members and neighbors massacred, with their homes set ablaze, they were chased off with the threat of death.

In the late 1800s some European Jews had begun moving to Palestine with a plan to establish a Jewish state. The new state would be for Jews only. The problem — people already lived on the desired land. The solution — get rid of those people.

In 1948, The Jewish armies worked quickly. In six months they had demolished and emptied 551 villages plus 11 urban neighborhoods.

Arab resistance was weak, but was used as a pretext for the expelling of a population and the taking of their land.